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Ancestral Magic
The Blind Whisper Tribe, to which Keth belongs, has developed a type of magic that relies on the ancestors and their memories to function. This is the source of Keth's magic, which he utilizes through tattoos on his body. History Since The Cataclysm, when creatures died their souls are destroyed. The Blind Whisper Tribe, however, was able to determine that by preserving a creature's memory through a strange amalgamation of written history and magic that creature's soul would be bound to the Material Plane, sparing them from death. The Blind Whisper Tribe houses How Does it Work? The binding of souls to this plane relies on the memories of that person, which in turn are linked to objects. Objects that had significance in a person's life (whether it be sentimental or just a crucial object in their life) are destroyed in the process of soul binding. The essence of that person's memory is then bound to some object using ink or bound to a person's skin in the form of a tattoo. At this point the process of preserving a soul is complete. The process involves a bowl or cistern of some magical nature. This bowl is used to deconstruct the artifact provided and while the bowl itself does have some magical properties, the artist is the important part of the equation. The artist is able to give those memories a physical form through the art that they draw or tattoo. Practical Use The tattoos that are a defining feature of Keth's tribe are actually just an extension of the primary mechanic through which these souls are bound. They are a way that has been developed over time of leveraging the bound souls of the ancestors into a practical use, primarily for self defense. This utilization of the ancestral magic takes many forms. Keth, and other tribe members like him who specialize in hand to hand combat, primarily use defensive and reactionary techniques, summoning ancestral spirits to defend themselves or allies from incoming damage. Archers tend to use more offensively oriented techniques, shooting with greater precision or inflicting more damage. Beyond this there could be countless ways this magic could be utilized, in combat or otherwise. Inspiration Thematically this is supposed to tie heavily with the idea of a "second death" in the real world, where your first death is your physical death and your second death is when your memory is forgotten. Gaps Here is where gaps or possible extensions of the lore here can be placed * How the Blind Whisper Tribe was able to determine that creature's souls were being destroyed * How sapient are the bound souls? Is this something they want? Can they communicate? * Can weapons be made into "magic weapons" through the use of this magic? * What is the "central repository" * I think that a physical representation of the ancestral binding in the "central repository" would also be fitting, not just having the ancestors appear when summoned using the tattoos Category:Magic